Nike Cup, Day Three

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina, November 19. THE Tar Heels made the 2011 Janis Hape Dowd Nike Cup their show at Maurice J. Koury Natatorium Saturday night, wrapping up what was a very successful three-day meet for them. Carolina had many great performances throughout the evening, including that of Jenna Moore, who set a school record in the women’s 1-meter dive.
UNC closed out the meet with first-place finishes in the women’s and men’s 1650-yard freestyle, 200-yard backstroke, 100 yard-freestyle, 200 yard butterfly, and 400-yard freestyle relay. The women’s team also won the 200-yard breaststroke, while the men won the 3-meter diving event.

Carolina’s men handled the competition with a final first-place score of 1,334 points, and the women made a statement with their final first-place score of 1,494 points. Duke University took second place with a score of 572.5 points and Harvard University took third place in men’s competition with 280 points. On the women’s side, the University of South Carolina finished in second with 619 points and the Naval Academy followed in third with 635 points.

The divers started the evening early, as senior Jenna Moore set a new school record in the women’s 1-meter dive, placing second with a score of 305.20 points. Moore was joined in the top eight by senior Kristin Arnold (281.10) who placed fourth, and freshman Natalie Ritter (276.60) who placed sixth. South Carolina senior Courtney Forcucci took first place with a score of 313.95 points.

The Tar Heels won the pace race during the women’s 1650-yard freestyle, securing the top two finishes in the event. Freshman Kelsey Cummings came in first place with a time of 16:20.02. Junior Jackie Rudolph was not far behind with a second-place time of 16:22.58.

“Kelsey Cummings did a lifetime best time, battling a shoulder injury we know she’s got even more in her,” said Head Coach Rich DeSelm. “Jackie Rudolph has been a rock for us and they really pushed each other.”

It seemed that the Carolina men could go the distance as well, notching finishes in first through sixth place during the men’s 1650-yard freestyle. Junior Brett Nagle (15:09.67), sophomore J.T. Stilley (15:24.53), sophomore Dan O’Connor (15:28.15), freshman John Paul Gaylor (15:31.31), senior Sean Lane (15:34.54), and senior Wil Singley (15:34.56) finished in first through sixth, respectively.

Three Tar Heels made their way into the top eight in the women’s 200-yard backstroke. Senior Candace Cooper had a first-place time of 1:56.46 and was joined by junior Rebecca Brooks (1:59.30) who finished in fourth place, and sophomore Stephanie Peacock (1:59.79) who finished in seventh place.

Carolina continued its dominance in the men’s 200-yard backstroke, capturing four spots in the top eight, including the top three. Freshman Patrick Myers (1:45.93), senior Jim Flannery (1:48.03) and freshman Clifton Gordon (1:48.74) took first through third place, respectively. Freshman Tyler Hill rounded out the top eight with a time of 1:51.86.

Freshman Nikki Barczak dashed into a first-place finish in the women’s 100-yard freestyle, with a time of 50.25, and was accompanied by four more Tar Heels within the top six. Freshman Danielle Siverling (50.62), sophomore Emily Kelly (50.63) and Peacock (50.73) took second through fourth place, respectively, and freshman Kim Carducci (51.30) ended the event in sixth place.

UNC struck gold once again with strong performances by three seniors in the men’s 100-yard freestyle, including a first-place finish by Steve Cebertowicz, with a time of 43.61. Evan Reed (44.05) took second place and Brad Hamilton (45.42) took eighth place.

It was another first-place performance for Carolina in the women’s 200-yard breaststroke, as senior Laura Moriarty took top honors with a time of 2:11.00. Senior Katie Keel landed in seventh place with a time of 2:17.09, and sophomore Katie Rechsteiner wrapped up the top eight with a time of 2:18.43.

A lone Tar Heel placed into the final eight spots in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke. Sophomore Alex Gianino swam to a sixth-place finish with a time of 2:02.42. Old Dominion senior Arni Arnason took first place with a time of 1:57.86.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Koury Natatorium, the Carolina’s diving contingent put on a fantastic showing in the men’s 3-meter dive. Senior David MacDonald took first place with a score of 426.50 points. MacDonald was joined by juniors Ryland Jones (335.10) and Jake Kinzbach (334.45), who placed seventh and eighth in the event, respectively.

Sophomore Meredith Hoover led the way for UNC with a first-place time of 1:58.17 in the women’s 200-yard butterfly. The event was an all-around strong performance by Carolina, placing four more swimmers in the top eight, including junior Katie Nolan (1:58.26) in second place, sophomore Cari Blalock (1:58.28) in third place, senior Nuffy Swanson (1:59.93) in fourth place, and senior Laura Ruscoe (2:01.70) in sixth place.

It was Carolina versus Navy in the men’s 200-yard butterfly, as Carolina had five top eight swimmers and Navy had three. Junior Tom Luchsinger glided into first place for the Tar Heels with a time of 1:45.38. Other notable UNC swimmers in the event were freshman Dominick Glavich (1:46.47) who took second place, senior Victor LeClere (1:49.41) who took fifth place, junior Brett Nagle (1:51.29) who took seventh place, and Hill (1:51.78) who took eighth place.

Siverling, Kelly, Barczak and Peacock took first place in the women’s 400-yard freestyle relay, the last women’s event for the evening. The four finished with a time of 3:22.18. Carducci, Brooks, Cooper and Nolan, who took second place with a time of 3:23.61, joined them in the relay. The third Carolina quartet to make it into the top eight was made up of sophomore Meredith Hoover and seniors Sarah Tanner, Sarah List and Marie Pesacreta, who finished the event in seventh place with a time of 3:29.16.

Cebertowicz, Reed, Glavich and Hamilton led the charge for the Carolina men who finished in first place in the men’s 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 2:57.52. The Tar Heels had two more groups place in the top eight. Senior Brock Park, sophomore Kyle Ficker, Stilley and Singley locked up fourth place with a time of 3:02.60. Freshman Brian McClintock, Gianino, Nagle and Luchsinger tied for seventh place with the men from Old Dominion with a time of 3:04.02.

“The meet was a very positive experience,” said DeSelm. “We need a high level of competition at this time of year, and we’re looking to compete in the best way we can.”

As the Tar Heels end the Nike Cup with high hopes for the rest of the season, they look forward to the USA Swimming Short Course National Championship Preliminaries that will take place Thursday, Dec. 1 in Atlanta.

The above article is a press release submitted to Swimming World Magazine. It has been posted in its entirety without editing. Swimming World offers all outlets the chance to reach our audience by contacting us at Newsmaster@swimmingworldmagazine.com. However, Swimming World reserves the right to choose what material is posted.

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